It was a 293-kilogram (646 lb) spacecraft equipped with two transponders to be powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 183 watts of power.

[3] It had a design life of five years and carried an SVM-2 apogee motor for propulsion.

[4] Intelsat III F-8 was launched on a Delta M rocket, flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The launch took place on July 23, 1970, with the spacecraft bound for a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

[1] The Intelsat III F-8 was lost due to a malfunction during the apogee motor firing.